HUSHPUPPI: No formal request from US for Kyari’s extradition – IGP

The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, said on Thursday he has not received a formal request from the United States for the extradition of the suspended Head of the Intelligence Response Team, Abba Kyari, over his indictment for alleged link with the suspended fraudster, Ramon Abass aka Hushpuppi.

The US District Court for the Central District of California had in July issued a warrant of arrest on Kyari and five others over an alleged link with the suspected fraudster.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) alleged that the police officer collected money from Hushpuppi to detain one of his partners in Nigeria.

The IGP suspended Kyari on August 1 over alleged ties with the fraudster.

In a chat with State House correspondents during the ministerial briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Baba said he was yet to receive any request from the US for the supercop’s extradition.

He added that the Force was working closely with the Attorney General of the Federation to discharge the appropriate form of justice to Kyari.

READ ALSO: Only Buhari can decide Abba Kyari’s fate —Police Affairs Minister

According to him, a panel set up by police authorities to investigate the case had submitted its report to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, for advice on the findings.

The IGP said: “I have not received any extradition request formally. But I have read from other places that there was an extradition request. I have not seen it and that is one.

“Two, when this issue of Kyari started, we took our own action by constituting a panel to look at the allegations that were made against the senior officer.

“The allegations were based on fraternising with Hushpuppi and even receiving some series of instructions on extrajudicial torture and so on. We looked into all these allegations via the committee that was set up by the DIG and we submitted our report to the SGF on the findings of our investigation.

“We just received the legal advice from the office of the Attorney General on what to do next in terms of asking the officer to account for what we have gathered in the course of our investigation. But for the extradition, I have not seen anything like that formally.”

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